2913 Tasting Notes

Thanks VariaTEA for the sample! Not sure if you knew, but this was my first Damn Fine Tea! I know the company is pretty beloved here on Steepster, and based on this one I can see why.

I made it up in my timolino, but sadly I didn’t get around to drinking it until it was pretty luke-warm. Even still I really enjoyed it; it was smooth with no bitterness or astringency, and it had lovely malt notes and very light smoke notes that blended together really well. I think some milk (just a little splash) would have made this one to die for, as well!

Sadly I had to drink it pretty quickly because Tre and I were going out for supper (spontaneous roommate bonding time, since I got off work early) and I felt bad taking tea into the restaurant. It was a good meal! French toast with strawberry topping and berry syrup, and mozza sticks with the most divine, sweet marinara sauce! Plus, Tre let me steal the maraschino cherry from his dessert and I got to show off my mad skills at tying knots in cherry stems with my tongue.

Supposedly that’s hard to do; I wonder if it’s a genetic thing though because both my brother and I can do it really easily? I wonder if my little sister can; if so it’s gotta be genetic (and passed down by my mom, since we have different dads)…

Probably wasted the last of this one; I had the perfect amount for a hot cup but opted to try cold brewing it instead, and the result was very weak despite giving it a pretty substantial steep time. Blah. It’s ok though because I definitely plan to restock this one; it’s one of the two DT green blends I feel like I “need” to have around (the other being Movie Night). So another 50g is definitely in my nearby future.

Non-tea Related Question Thing:

I finally managed to have a decent conversation with Tyrell after him being really absent and non communicative all week, and he basically told me that the reason he’s been very absent is that he’s going through some depression right now and he thinks it’s unfair to me to keep dating each other when he’s not “wholly invested in the relationship”.

As some of you here on Steepster know, I’ve had my fair bit of experience with depression, especially immediately before and after moving last year. Him being depressed doesn’t scare me away, and I’d like to continue to try seeing him – I really like him, although we’ve only been dating for a few months now. What he’s going through is something that I can relate to more than some people, and something that I know I can be patient and understanding with.

So I guess my question is whether anyone here on Steepster is in or has been in a relationship similar to this where one party was depressed and what that experience was like. Feel free to PM me if it’s not something you want to talk openly about in the comments. And, I guess, next question would be what the best way to communicate that with him would be.

Of course, I’m not naive and I know that one person can’t decide to keep a relationship going; it has to be a two person decision – so if he really doesn’t want to continue things then that’s what will happen…

I went into a very deep depression about two years ago. They did some bloodwork and it came out that my Vitamin D was bottomed out. Does he take any? My doctor told me that few people get what they need naturally. He said where I live (Kentucky), we can’t even make it from the sun between September and April, due to where the sun is in the horizon. I would think it’s a bigger problem in Canada?

I’m not sure; I’m pretty sure he doesn’t, though. Honestly, and I’m really just theorizing, but I think it’s probably to do with some more major life changes recently like moving to a new city (from Martensville to Saskatoon within the last two weeks or so) – personally I know I felt displaced when I moved here from Regina last year.

I was super depressed about three years ago, lasting about 6 months. It was a situational depression rather than having a biological basis. The BF was extremely supportive and endlessly patient, for which I am still grateful. Anyway, if you want to know anything about things from the perspective of the depressed half of the relationship, PM me (I think you’ll have to follow me first)

Made in my timolino but I think I seriously underleafed because this was weak and watery, and not anywhere near it’s usual impressive roasty toasty flavour – and I definitely gave it a long steep time, so that’s not the problem…

Pretty much over being sick which is good; a week of sickness is just too much. And with feeling good again comes more tea drinking, which is definitely a good thing!

To finish this blend off I cold brewed it – I really do enjoy this one cold brewed. There’s something really fun and whimsical about it; it even looks fantastic: like a pale orange with an almost shimmery cloudyness to it! Fun! And there’s something about the mouthfeel that’s a little hard to describe, but it captures the texture of cotton candy dissolving on your tongue and that really ties the whole thing together for me.

Taste wise; this is so sugary sweet but that’s exactly what Cotton Candy is so this one completely achieves what it’s supposed to, and you have to give it props for that. Considering I really didn’t like my first hot cup of this, it’s grown on me a good deal and I definitely want to pick up more of it before I lose the chance to: not anything crazy like 100g more (I don’t love it that much) but maybe another 25g so I can enjoy a few more cold brews and maybe try a latte.

Thank you VariaTEA for the sample. I likely would have been too stubborn to go and get some for myself otherwise (it’s the raisins, man!). What’d I do without you?

I’m only somewhat regretting cold brewing it all while I was sick: it was a little hard to get any nuances it may have had while I was heavily medicated at work today. What I did pick up on what some serious creamy vanilla coconut notes and buttery, tropical feeling apple/mango notes. And is there seriously no pineapple in this!? How can you market it as a “Pina Colada” tea when there’s no pineapple? That seems really, really wrong to me.

But it was good. I may need to pick up a small sample again some time when I’m not sick so I can get a proper taste of it, because I feel like I missed out on things I should have picked up, like cinnamon or star anise.

Reserving my rating until I’ve tried it not sick. Pretty sure I still like Tropicalia a lot more though…

Thank you VariaTEA (and I believe, by extension, jump62359) for the sample! I had a “moment of clarity” late last night after a shower where I didn’t feel sick anymore so I seized the opportunity and made a tea from VariaTEA’s latest care package.

This was ok. Nothing really exceptional about it, but it was good enough I’d have it again if it was served to me. It was a nice smooth vanilla mint tea, and I liked that there’s no chocolate component to it. It’s definitely not needed; sometimes vanilla mint just needs to stand on its own! I guess my biggest gripe was just that it was a little thin/watery overall.

Maybe I could have fixed that by pushing for a longer steep time, but I followed the recommendation on the little sample baggy – and I didn’t want to over do it either.

I wanted to give this a fair shot despite finding it so revolting in every way I’ve tried it thus far. And, I have to admit, I was hoping that maybe being sick and not tasting very well would make it more passable. Not the case.

I have figured out exactly what it reminds me of though! It’s great being able to put a description to the disgusting flavour you’re experiencing, right? Well this one is “musty old attic and rotten fruit”. Sip on that? No thanks.

Cold brewed the whole sample from Dexter in the hopes that maybe just maybe I’d not be sick by the time it was ready. Twas not the case though, even after giving this one a very extended 24 hour steep in the fridge. Honestly, it wasn’t bad at all though.

It reminded me of cold brewed Oh Canada! from DT in that it was a really thick, rich maple flavour to it – but this one was better because on top of the maple was a nice gooey caramel flavour, some faint black tea taste, and almost a marzipan sweet nuttyness. I’d love to try this one again hot or as a latte – or better yet as a cold brew when I’m actually not sick.

I was really impressed on the whole, though! Maybe because my expectiations were very low. And I feel like this one passes for what it’s named after pretty well too. Gotta give props for that because I haven’t found a lot of these potion blends to be too fitting in that regard.

Made up a round of Stash bagged teas on, uhh, I think Wednesday? Wednesday and Thursday are kinda blurring together for me right now.

I wanted tea, but I didn’t have the strength to put in the effort to make nice, loose tea so lots and lots of bagged stuff. This one wasn’t really agreeing with me, though I normally adore it. It just sat funny on my tongue and left a weird sour taste in my mouth. During the sip it was nice creamy caramel, though…

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Bio

Hello;

My name is Kelly. I’m a barely twenty tea drinker and reviewer living in Saskatchewan, Canada. I started drinking loose leaf fairly casually nearly two years ago, and at some point between then and now that ‘fun little hobby’ turned into a serious obsession.

You know you’ve got it bad when you get your hobby tattooed to your arm.

Typically I drink flavoured blends more that straight but one of my mini goals this year is to get that ratio to a more 50/50 level. I do a daily cold brew, and have at least (but usually a lot more) two hot cups of tea every day. Naturally I lean towards black or white blends, but I WILL drink everything; the last half year or so I’ve been challenging myself by further exploring Oolong and Pu’Erh which are the tea types I know the least about overall.

My default for preparation is Western Style with zero additives (the exception being matcha which I drink in straight milk with no additives); so unless I mention otherwise you can assume that’s how I’ve prepared my tea!

I also write reviews for SororiTea Sisters! Typically what I post there is more edited, focused and expanded reviews of what I’m posting here. Unless I was sent a tea specifically to review for the blog, I will post here first.

If the tea was sent to me specifically to review there then the full review will only be posted there, and my Steepster review will just contain a snippet of the review and a link to the full review on the SS site.